


If My Heart Was A House

by Kuuvak



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-02-23 11:04:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13188741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuuvak/pseuds/Kuuvak
Summary: Yusei meets the ever excitable Judai and the two become best friends in a short amount of time. The two boys have many adventures a head of them but will their friendship last?





	1. Chapter 1

I’ll never forget the day I met him. He was wearing a Superman T-shirt which had chocolate smeared across it. His shoes were untied and his shorts had a hole in them. He continuously smacked his lips as he ate his chocolate ice cream cone. The day was hot and the ice cream melted faster than the little 6 year old could eat so most of it ended up on his shirt and the ground. I was busy trying to build my model rocket when he had come over to ask me if I wanted to play. Naturally I declined and focused my attention on my rocket.

“Can I play with your rocket too? It looks really cool! Hey maybe I can go grab one of my toys and we can play together.” He was so full of energy and he definitely wasn’t shy about approaching me. “Oh, I almost forgot, my name’s Judai. What’s yours?”

“Yusei.”

“That’s a nice name. Truly great, Yusei! You wanna play with me?” Judai got down on his knees next to the boy and set his ice cream down in the grass. “I never had a toy rocket before. Can I touch it?” Judai tried to grab the rocket from the other boy but Yusei quickly turned away, blocking Judai from taking his toy.

“No, this is a really delicate piece of equipment and I’m not finished building it yet. I need to attach the fins to it and then paint it. It’s really fragile.” Yusei continued putting together his rocket while the brunette watched in awe. 

“You’re pretty talented to be building that rocket. Oh, I know! Maybe when you’re finished we can play together. I’ll go get my action figures! I’ll be right back!” Judai ran back to his house and flung open the door. He was going to bring out his best toys for Yusei to play with. 

Yusei shrugged and finished attaching the last pieces to his rocket, it was finally complete. He smiled to himself. It had taken him all afternoon to put together this rocket and he felt a sense of pride come over him. He picked up his model and began making his way inside the house. He stopped when he heard a yell from behind him turning to see the brunette from earlier running towards him. 

“Yusei look, I brought them all!” Yusei could see the boy carrying what seemed to be a bunch of action figures in is arms. Everything in him told him to walk into his house and start painting his model but something in him halted him and he stood there waiting for the brunette to catch up. “Yusei look! I even brought out my favorite one! You can play with him if you want.”

Judai tossed all his toys down at Yusei’s feet and smiled at him. He held up one toy in particular and tried handing it to Yusei. “This is Neos, he’s my favorite but you can play with him if you want.” Yusei put the rocket down on the porch and gentle grasped the figure Judai had handed him. He looked it over and tilted his head. Yusei’s eyes widened and he smiled.

“You read Elemental Hero?” Yusei looked at the brunette and saw the grin spread across his chocolate covered face. 

“Yeah! It’s my favorite! I love how cool all the heroes are and the pictures are really cool!” Judai jumped with excitement and grabbed two of his heroes from he ground smacking them into each other and making an explosion sound with his mouth. Yusei shook his head and turned to Judai. He looked down at the toy in his hand and he felt a burst of happiness run through him. 

“I can’t play right now but thank you for your offer.” Yusei held the toy out for Judai to grab. The brunette’s face fell a bit but only for a moment and without a word the boy flashed a smile and nodded. He gently took the figure from Yusei and gathered the rest of his toys before running back home. He took the toys inside and dumped them on the floor before returning outside. Yusei watched the boy as he ran back over carrying something. 

“Here Yusei, I want you to have this but only cause we’re friends.” Judai shoved something into Yusei’s hand and before the raven could protest the brunette had already made his way back into his yard and into his house. Yusei looked down at his hand and smiled. 

Later that evening Yusei sat in his room reading his newest issue of The Stardust Chronicles on his bed and he sighed. He wondered what that Judai boy was doing and if he was thinking about him. He sure seemed interested in Yusei’s model rocket. Heck, Judai sure seemed interested in him. Maybe Yusei would invite him to play sometime and they could play together. Yusei sighed once more. What an interesting child. 

“Yusei it’s time for dinner” He could hear his mother call from downstairs. Yusei got up from his bed and went for the door stopping to look back at his desk. The little button Judai had given him shined from the lamp and it made Yusei smile. He shut the door to his room and went down the stairs to join his parents in the dining room.

“So what did you do today, son?” Yusei looked to his father and shrugged.

“Nothing really, I finished building my new model rocket. I just need to paint it. I also talked to the neighbor kid today.” Yusei picked at his plate with his fork. 

“The neighbor kid, huh? How was that?” His father poked at the food on his plate as he looked over to Yusei, scooping some into his mouth.

“It was okay. He’s really messy and has lots of toys. He also gave me something.” Yusei shoveled food into his mouth and looked over at his mother and then back at his father. 

“Gave you something? Like what?” His mother looked to him curiously and tilted her head slightly. 

“Just a button. It’s shiny and round and a little sticky.” Yusei looked down at his food continued eating.

“Well, that sounds nice. Do you like it?” His mother smiled.

Yusei stopped for a moment and thought about it. Did he like it? It was sticky from the chocolate ice cream Judai had been eating but Yusei thought that was fine, afterall he could just wash it. “Yes. I like it.” He shoved more food into his mouth. 

“So what was this boy like? Does he have a name?” Yusei’s father set his fork down and watched his son. Yusei did the same and looked to his father.

“His name is Judai and he’s really messy and has brown hair. He talks a lot but he’s nice.”

His parents looked to each other and smiled before they looked to Yusei. 

“Well, he sounds wonderful. A new friend is exactly what you could use right now.” His mother got up from her seat and kissed his head before taking his finished plate. “Now go get ready for the bath. I’ll start the water in a minute.” Yusei nodded and headed up the stairs to the main bathroom. 

After his bath Yusei felt the sleep coming to his eyes and he entered his room. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and went over to his desk. The button sat there in the light and Yusei picked it up. The boy crawled into bed and pulled the covers up over him as he got snuggled into place. His mother as always entered the room and tucked him in and kissed his head. 

“Sweet dreams my little star. I’ll see you in the morning.” She turned out his light and left for the night leaving Yusei alone in his dark room. Yusei looked at the button and turned it over and over in his fingers. He admired the shine it had and the image on it’s surface. It was a picture of Neos from the comic “Elemental Hero” and the word “Heroes” printed on it. Yusei smiled and put the button under his pillow and let his eyes fall shut. Soon he could feel sleep consuming him as he drifted away into a world of dreams.


	2. Play and Paints

Yusei woke early that morning rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He sat up and looked around his room. It was quiet in his house. Where was his mother? Usually she would wake him in the mornings and get him ready for his lessons but today she was nowhere to be seen. He could hear laughter coming from downstairs which spiked his curiosity. 

“Mom?” He softly called as he got out of bed. He made his way down the stairs and saw a strange woman standing in his kitchen. He came around the corner to find his mother talking with the stranger. “Mom,” he said once more but a little louder.

“Oh, Yusei. There you are sweetie. Did you sleep well?” She knelt down and rustled Yusei’s messy hair a bit. “I was just talking to the neighbor about some things. Why don’t you go play with little Judai?” His mother looked behind her son and smiled. Yusei raised an eyebrow at this and followed his mother’s gaze towards the living room. There he was. The boy from yesterday. Wearing a cape and mask just like in the comics. 

Yusei looked at his mother and shook his head. “When are we going to start my lesson for today? I thought we were going to look over the beginnings of physics.”

The other woman in the kitchen let out a soft laugh. “Physics? Oh my, aren’t you a little young to be studying such a thing?” She looked over to her son for a moment before looking back at Yusei. He had no comment and gave his attention to his mother.

“Mother you said today we’d start my new lesson.” His mother looked at him with a defeated smile and she placed her hand on his head.

“Yusei, why don’t you go play with little Judai and we’ll talk about your lesson in a bit, okay?” She gently nudged him towards the living room and waved him off. Yusei sighed and walked over to the living room where Judai was bouncing around. 

At the sight of him Judai stopped. “Yusei! Remember me!? I saw you yesterday and we played together!” He ran over to Yusei and bounced in front of him. “You want to play with me? I brought Neos and his side kick Burst Lady!” He proceeded to make his toy figures fly around in the air around Yusei. 

“Burst Lady isn’t his side kick. She’s more of her own protagonist really, if you’ve ever read her comics. I’d say they’re allies and they just work together sometimes but she’s definitely not a side kick.” Yusei moved away from Judai and sat down on the couch with a sigh. He really wanted to focus on his studies but he supposed he’d have to wait for his mother to finish her conversation with who he assumed was Judai’s mother. Judai stood by himself for a moment before joining Yusei on the couch quietly. He slowly placed his favorite toy in Yusei’s lap and waited. Yusei looked at the figure and then to Judai. Why did the brunette want to play with him so badly? Yusei didn’t understand it but decided to humor the boy.

“So, what do you want to play?” 

Judai’s eyes lit up and he jumped off the couch. “Anything! We could play action figures or super heroes! Oh! Can we play with your rocket?” 

Yusei hesitated for e moment before he spoke. “Well, I still need to paint it before it’ll be ready and besides, it’s a model so you’re not really supposed to play with it.” 

“Oh can we please paint it together! That would be so much fun! Oh, please?” Judai was bouncing up an down giving Yusei the purest smile the young boy had ever seen. Yusei sighed. What could go wrong?

“Fine, but you have to be careful with the paint. If my mom sees paint on the floor she wont be very happy. Okay?” Judai nodded excitedly and bit his lip. Yusei got up from the couch and made his way through the kitchen with Judai following. 

“Where are you two going honey? Are you going to play in your room?” His mother smiled at them and leaned against the kitchen island. Yusei nodded at her silently giving her a small smile and proceeded to go up the stairs. 

“We’re gonna paint his rocket!” Judai was so giddy that the two mothers let out a laugh and watched the boys go up into Yusei’s room. 

“I knew they’d get along.” Judai’s mother smiled to herself and Yusei’s mother nodded in agreement. 

The boys entered Yusei’s room and Judai gasped. “Wow, this is your room!? Look at all this cool stuff!” He ran over to the window to examine the telescope and then over to the shelf that held all of Yusei’s models and books. Judai immediately spotted the unfinished rocket and picked it up. It was then that something caught his eye. On the highest shelf was a model of Stardust Dragon from the comic The Stardust Chronicles. 

“This is so cool Yusei! You’re so cool!” Judai was full of energy and Yusei couldn’t help but laugh inside. This boy was so excited to be here and Yusei didn’t really understand why but it made him feel happy. When Judai looked over at him, Yusei gave Judai a half smile and watched him run around the room. He didn’t realize the brunette would be so enamored with his stuff. Judai ran over to Yusei’s desk and looked at all the sticky notes and papers scattered around and that’s when Yusei got nervous. Judai picked up a blue book that said “Fortune” on it and that’s when Yusei ran over there and took the book from Judai.

“Hey, Judai. You wanted to paint the model rocket right? Come on, let’s get the paint. After all we don’t know how much time you have here so we better get started.” At that Judai’s eyes shimmered and the two began setting up to work. 

Yusei placed the book on his bed and went to his closet. Yusei took out a small table from his closet and set it in the middle of his room covering it with newspaper and he set out all the paints in a neat row. “Okay Judai, bring me the rocket. We can start painting now but don’t get any on the carpet. Only on the newspaper and the rocket.”

“Okay, Yusei!” Judai rushed over to the table and grabbed a paintbrush. The two of them spent the next hour painting the rocket as best as they could. Judai managed to get paint on his face and his clothes which made Yusei roll his eyes and smile. The two looked at the finished rocket and smiled.

“Wow Yusei look at how pretty and neat your lines are! It looks so smooth! And the stars look really nice!” Judai looked at his side of the rocket. “But I like mine because it has fire on it.” Yusei glanced over at Judai’s side of the model rocket and nodded.

“I like the flames on the side. It makes it look like it’s going fast.” Yusei and Judai admired the rocket together before they heard Yusei’s mom call from downstairs. It was clear that Judai’s time was up. As the two began cleaning up the mess Judai’s elbows bumped one of the bottles of paint and it fell against the table. Judai didn’t realize the bottle was dripping and he left it alone for now and continued picking up the paintbrushes. 

“Judai come on honey it’s time to leave!” The brunette looked over and Yusei and the raven smiled.

“It’s okay Judai, I can clean this up myself.”

“Thanks Yusei! Hey, maybe we can play tomorrow! Thanks for letting me paint your rocket. It was a lot of fun.” Judai ran up to Yusei and gave him a tight hug and then took off down the stairs. “Bye!”

Yusei stood there for a moment and tilted his head. Judai was such an interesting kid and Yusei was glad he had come over. He smiled at the doorway and turned to clean up the rest of the mess and that’s when he saw the dark blue paint dripping onto the white carpeted floor. 

Yusei put his hand on his face and sighed. Judai was something else.


	3. The Sleepover

“Yusei! YUSEI!” A knock came on the front door of Yusei’s house and little Judai stood there with his bright smile as always. The two had been inseparable for weeks and Judai wanted to spend the rest of summer with Yusei before they started school. Judai figured if he went over right when he woke up he’d have maximum play time with Yusei. He banged on the door once more. “Yusei!”

The door opened up and Yusei’s mother stepped out to the porch. “Oh, well hello there Judai. I’m sorry but Yusei isn’t home right now, is there anything else I can help you with?” Her smile was so sweet and calming that Judai only stared at her for a moment. “Judai?”

“Oh, um. Sorry. Um, where is he?” Judai folded his hands behind his head and gently kicked at the flowers next to the porch. 

“Well, he’s with his father right now but they’ll probably be back in a few hours.”

“Oh okay. Well, thanks anyways. Will you let me know when he gets back?”

“Sure, I’ll send him right over.” 

“Thank you Mrs. Fudo!” Judai turned to go back to his house bouncing down each step on Yusei’s porch. He ran through the yard and across the street, looking both ways before crossing of course. The brunette went into his house and immediately up to his room where he threw himself on his bed to wait. He figured Yusei would be home around lunch time so until then he thought he’d read a few of his comics again. 

The hours passed and Judai woke to the sound of someone knocking on his bedroom door. He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. “Come in.” He yawned. The door opened and Yusei entered the room. 

“Yusei!” Judai waved furiously and climbed off his bed. 

Yusei waved back and smiled gently. “Hi, Judai.”

“What are you doing here?”

“My mother said you came looking for me earlier and she sent me over.”

“Oh, yeah. Where were you?”

“I was with my father.”

“Doing what?”

“I went with him to his job.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to be a scientist when I get older so my father let me take a tour in his lab today.

“Oh okay! Wanna play?” Judai ran to his closet and started pulling out his toys scattering them across the floor. Yusei let out a small laugh at the boy’s excitement. 

“Okay, but I can’t stay for too long. Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Aw, okay!”

Yusei glanced around Judai’s room for a moment taking in all the hero posters that were thrown all over the walls. He noticed the smooth wood floors that had toys littered all over it. He admired all the figures Judai had and the tv that was in the room too. Yusei noted that the brunette’s room was a lot messier than his and thought maybe that’s just the way Judai liked things.

“Come on Yusei let’s play fight!” 

Coming out of his thoughts Yusei looked to Judai and he smiled. “Okay.” The boys played with Judai’s toys for a while until the sky grew dark and Judai’s mother called for the boys to come down stairs. The boys were so caught up in their game that they didn’t even hear their mothers calling for them. 

“Boys, come on down! Yusei has to go home!”

“Yusei, sweetie, come on!”

The two boys continued playing, completely lost in their own world. A sudden knock came to the door and Judai’s head shot up. Standing in the doorway was Yusei’s mother. 

“Oh, hey mother. I didn’t know it was time to go home already. I just need to help Judai clean up.”

“Alright then but we gotta get going soon, okay? You’re father is waiting for us.” She gave him a kiss on the head and watched as he began cleaning up the toys scattered on the floor. Judai sat there for a minute and watched with a pout on his face. 

“Can’t he stay for one more minute? Pleeeeease?” 

Yusei turned to Judai at that and sighed. He felt the need to explain that a minute isn’t much time at all but he decided against it when he saw Judai pleading for him to stay. 

“Oh please, oh please Mrs. Fudo, just one more minute?” Judai clasped his hands together in front of his chest and looked up at Yusei’s mother trying to make his best sad face. 

She smiled letting out a laugh. “Oh okay but only because you asked so nicely,” she patted Judai’s head and he jumped in the air triumphantly. 

“Yusei did you hear THAT!? You can stay for one more minute!” Judai danced in place happy to know he’d get a little more time with his friend. Yusei and his mother exchanged curious looks before Yusei smiled at Judai. He was an excitable kid. 

“Judai let’s see who can clean up the most before I have to leave.” Yusei figured making this a game would help Judai clean faster and still give the feeling of playing together.

“Oh I am so gonna win!” Judai readied himself and smiled at Yusei.

“In your dreams.” Yusei couldn’t help but smile at Judai’s enthusiasm.

“Wanna bet on it?”

“Sure. You ready?”

“Duh.”

“On your mark, get set, go!”

The two boys rushed around the room cleaning up toys and crayons along with paper and various other items Judai had strewn across his floor. The two laughed and chased each other as they threw toys in the toy chest and crayons into the drawing cupboards. In only a matter of minutes the two had cleaned the room cleaner than Judai had ever had it before and they fell to the floor with their laughter, holding onto each other as they caught their breaths. 

“I...totally...won.”

“No...you...didn’t. It was...a tie.” Yusei closed his eyes and let his breathing slow as they lay next to each other. He hadn’t had this much fun in a while and he was glad to have Judai around. It was a nice change of pace. 

“Alright Yusei, it’s time to go.” Yusei sat up slowly and nodded, the excitement dying down and his normal calm demeanor returned. Judai’s head shot up and he quickly got to his feet following Yusei and his mother out the door. As they made their way down the stairs Judai began begging Yusei’s mother to let him stay longer which she had to politely decline. 

“Oh please can he stay the night? Please? I promise I’ll take care of him and we won’t stay up to late. Pleeease?” 

“You know a sleep over does sound really nice but Yusei’s father wants him home tonight so maybe another time, okay Judai?” 

“Well, what if Judai comes over to our house for the night?” Yusei turned to his mother and looked up at her with a desperate look. “I mean, if that’s okay.”

His mother smiled at him and glanced at Judai, who was now staring at Yusei with adoration in his eyes. “you really want me to come over Yusei?”

“Well yeah. We’re friends, right?”

“Yeah! So can I? Can I spend the night!?”

“Well...”

Both boys looked up at her, hands together, standing side by side and they made the saddest faces they could muster. 

“Please?” They said in unison. 

Yusei’s mother laughed. “Okay, okay boys you win. We just have to ask Judai’s mom.”

“Oh I heard everything. I think it’s a wonderful idea. Judai needs to get out of the house more anyways.” Judai’s mother had made her way into the hallway where they stood, her hands buried in her apron. 

“Well then, I guess that settles it. Judai, if you could go pack a bag that would be great. Yusei, why don’t you go help him?”

Both boys ran for the stairs and made their way up back to Judai’s room. 

“Oh boy what should I bring?” Judai grabbed his Elemental Hero backpack and began stuffing things inside. “Oh I need pajamas and uh, I need this!”

“You’re bringing a slinky?”

“It might come in handy. Oh and I need this!” As Judai ran around his room looking for things to bring with him Yusei began packing Judai’s bag for him. 

“Judai, where is your bathroom? We need to grab your toothbrush.”

“It’s down the hall on the right!”

Yusei ran down the hall and grabbed what he assumed was Judai’d toothbrush and back into the room. Judai had a handful of toys with him and Yusei sighed.

“No, Judai. You can’t bring all those.”

“Why not?” Judai’s expression fell at Yusei’s words and he looked to the ground.

“Well, they won’t all fit in your bag. How about you just bring one? That way we can play together?” Yusei half-smiled at Judai in an attempt to cheer him up. Judai thought about it for a moment and sprung back to life. 

“Okay! But I gotta at least bring Neos. He’ll protect me at night.” Judai shoved his action figure into the bag and zipped it up. With a big grin on his face he put the bag on his back and stood by the door. “Ready!” Yusei smiled at the brunette and the two headed downstairs ready for a night of fun.

. . . 

“You’re family is so cool Yusei! We got hot chocolate and even ice cream!? In the same night!? So cool!” Judai jumped around Yusei’s room with a little more excitement than Yusei was used to. Probably the ice cream. 

“Yeah, well that’s just because you’re over. Normally I don’t have a lot of that stuff. Mom says it’s bad for your teeth.” Yusei sat at his desk writing in his dark blue journal. He wrote in it most nights and tonight was no different.

“Let’s play! Can we play a game?”

“Sure, what do you want to play?” Yusei turned around in his desk to watch Judai.

“How about we tell scary stories? I always wanted to do that! Or we can stay up late and jump on your bed!”

“You’re not jumping on my bed. I don’t know any scary stories, not really anyways. Wanna play video games?”

“YEAH!” 

Yusei and Judai spent the night playing all sorts of games together. They played with Yusei’s models and several different board games before the two felt the exhaustion set in. It was then that Yusei’s mother entered the room. 

“Alright you two, I think it’s bed time. Come on. Brush your teeth and into bed with you.”

“But Mother, where is Judai going to sleep? I don’t think We’ll both fit on the bed.”

His mother thought for a moment. “I have an idea. I’ll be right back.” She returned in a few minutes with several blankets in her arms. “How about we make a bed on the floor and you share?”

The boys turned to each other and nodded. The three of them set up the bed and made it as soft as possible setting up two pillows for the boys to sleep on. 

“there you boys go. Now, teeth.”

Yusei nodded and made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth. “Judai are you coming?”

“Yeah! I’ll be in a sec!” Judai sat on the bed for a moment and looked around Yusei’s room. He admired it so much. It was always so neat and clean. He had wondered how Yusei managed that when Judai could barely keep his bed made. He noticed a faded blue mark on the floor that looked like someone had tried to scrub it out. He wondered what it could have been. Yusei was a fairly clean person so he can’t imagine this was Yusei’s doing. 

Yusei returned with his hands on his hips. “Judai you gotta go brush your teeth or you’ll get cavities.” Judai jumped up after being pulled from his thoughts and he nodded. 

“Coming!”

After the boys had brushed their teeth and gotten into their pajamas it was time for bed. Yusei’s mother tucked them in and kissed their foreheads. “Sleep well boys. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Yusei’s mother turned the light’s off and the room went dark. There was a faint light from the window but everything else was black. Yusei closed his eyes and made himself comfortable hoping for sleep to take over soon but as he felt the sleep coming to him he heard a whimper next to him. 

“Judai? Are you okay?” Yusei turned over to face Judai who was hidden under the blankets and shaking. “Judai?” Yusie lifted the blankets to try and see but was disappointed when he could only make out the general shape of Judai. He could hear sniffles coming from his friend and his heart fell. Was Judai not having a good time? Did he miss home? He didn’t know but he wanted to comfort his friend. “Judai?”

“Y-yeah?” The voice was shaky and it sounded like the brunette had been crying. 

“Are you okay?”

“I’m...I’m scared of the dark.” 

Yusei finally understood and he moved closer to his trembling friend. “Judai, there’s nothing to fear in the dark. My dad says that there’s nothing toi be scared of and he’s a scientist so he knows.” 

Judai continued to tremble and sniffle. “I’m scared of the dark. Because that’s when...That’s when the voices come.”

Yusei was quiet for a moment. Voices? He didn’t get it but he wanted to help Judai. 

”It’s okay. I’m right here with you. I won’t let them hurt you.” Yusei then wrapped his arms around the crying brunette and held him. “I’m here for you Judai.” The trembling seemed to grow more intense for a moment and then very slowly it faded. Judai moved closer to Yusei burying his head in his friend’s chest. 

“You’re my best friend Yusei.”

“And you’re mine too, Judai.”

“And we’ll be best friends forever, right?”

“Yeah, forever.”

The night grew late and soon the two boys fell asleep wrapped around each other. Judai had a pool of drool at the edge of his pillow that he was sure to wake up to later. Yusei slept soundly rested against Judai even though the brunette tended to kick in his sleep. The boys remained in a peaceful slumber together until the morning came. What awaited them who knows but for now all they knew was that they were the best of friends and nothing and nobody was going to separate them.


	4. First day of shcool

The days came and went and it was time the boys started school. Registration had happened and luckily Judai and Yusei would be going to the same school. The boys had spent the last week of their summer talking about school and what fun they would have and what the kids might be like. They were both excited to start the school year and even more excited at the possibility of being in the same class. 

The first day came and the boys were more excited than ever. Yusei’s mother had dropped both Yusei and Judai off at class and waved goodbye to them. The boys looked in awe at all the toys and crayons in the room. There were posters with caterpillars and rabbits and frogs with words across the tops and bottoms. There were cubbie along the wall that had labels on them. Yusei had noted that each cubbie had a student’s name on it and he saw they were in alphabetical order by last name. 

“Yusei look kids! There’s more kids here!” Judai cheered and grabbed Yusei’s hand to lead him towards the other kids. Yusei was reluctant at first but seeing how happy Judai was he followed. There were many other children running around the room playing all sorts of games with each other. Yusei thought it was all so hectic. The room quieted when the teacher entered the room and the children settled into their seats. 

“Hello class, my name is Ms.Valentine and I’ll be your teacher for the year. Here we’ll learn how to share, care and play happily with each other along with some other exciting things. We’ll go on many adventures together and learn many new things.” The children ooh’d and ahh’d at her words as she spoke. Judai was bouncing in his seat too excited to sit still. “Now, are there any questions?”

“Hi! My name is Judai! I’m 6 years old and I like comic books!” Judai stood up and proudly showed off his Elemental Hero t-shirt he was wearing to his new teacher. She laughed and clapped her hands together. 

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you Judai. Can you do me a favor and raise your hand?”

Judai did as he was told and smiled brightly. “Like this?”

“Very good. Now in school whenever we want to speak out to the class we raise our hand and wait to be called on. Okay?”

“Oooh. Okay!” Judai sat down in his chair and swayed from side to side feeling proud that the teacher had talked to him directly. 

“Okay class, I want to go around and have you introduce yourselves. Give your name and three things you like. Okay?” Judai’s hand immediately shot up.

“Oh teacher! Pick me! Pick me!” Judai couldn’t contain his excitement and he was practically jumping out of his seat. Ms. Valentine smiled and nodded her head in amusement.

“Alright Judai, you can go first.” 

Judai stood up proudly and put his hands at his sides. “I’m Judai and I like a lot of things! I like comics a lot and I like food and i uh...I love my best friend Yusei!” Judai turned to hug Yusei as he said it almost falling over. Yusei smiled and hugged the brunette back. The class clapped and Judai sat back down. 

“Well, seeing as how you were introduced, why don’t you go next Yusei?”

Yusei stood up and held his hands behind his back. “My name is Yusei Fudo. I enjoy building models and I like learning science with my father at his lab and I also love my best friend Judai.” Yusei gave Judai a quick glance before he sat down. The class was filled with claps and chatter after that and Ms. Valentine had to hush the rowdy students. 

“Alright, how about you, Yugi. You’re next.” 

A small child stood up and turned to face the crowd. He has his head hanging low and it seemed as if he was trying to make himself smaller than he already was. 

“H-hi. My name is Yugi and I like playing games and uh...I like spending time with my grandpa and...” he trailed off for a moment before he looked over at the teacher. 

“Go on Yugi, what’s one more thing you like?” Ms. Valentine smiled at the shy boy to reassure him. Yugi smiled and nodded.

“And I also like making new friends.” 

“OH! Yugi come sit by me! Yugi! Over here!” Judai was waving his hand around in the air to get Yugi’s attention hoping the boy would be willing to go over and sit next to him and Yusei. Luckily Yugi noticed Judai’s enthusiasm and made his way over to the brunette. 

“Hi Yugi! I’m Judai! Oh and this is my best friend, Yusei. You wanna play with us?” Judai’s eyes had a sparkle to them as Yugi sat down next to him.

“Yeah, I would like to play.” Yugi was calm and quiet against Judai’s overpowering energy and he was a little shy around the duo. Yusei gave Yugi a wave and then turned his attention back to the front of the class. Judai whispered to Yugi throughout the next introduction but was soon scolded for not paying attention. Judai and Yugi turned their attention to their classmates and the boys listened to each student until every student had made their introductions. 

“Alright class, I think for the first day we’ll have free time. So feel free to play together and get to know each other.” 

Judai immediately turned to Yugi and smiled. “Let’s go play together Yugi!” 

Yugi gave a shy smile and nodded “Okay.”

“Yusei you come play too! We can play tag.”

Yusei shurgged and got up from where he was sitting. “Ok.”

The three boys spent the rest of the afternoon playing and chasing each other smiling and laughing all the while. The bell rang and school had ended much to Judai’s dismay. 

“I want to stay here and play with Yugi and Yusei! I don’t want to go home!” Judai fell to the ground and began crying as Yusei’s mother walked in the room. Yusei made his way over to his mother taking a look back at Judai. Yugi ran over to his grandfather and giggled as he was scooped up into his arms. All the children left with their parents smiling and laughing except for the excitable Judai.

“Come on Judai, it’s time to go home. Yusei, come on honey.”

Judai’s face was streaked with tears as he got up from the floor and made his way over to Yusei’s mother. He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve and sniffled. 

“Judai sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Mrs. Fudo knelt down and rubbed Judai’s back. “Are you okay?”

Judai half nodded and half shook his head as he rubbed his eyes again. “I don’t want to go home.” He sniffled and looked up at Mrs. Fudo. Her soft expression soothing and warm. 

“Oh sweetheart just think you get to come back and play tomorrow. And how about you come play with Yusei today, okay? I’m sure your mommy won’t mind. I’ll make you boys some treats and set up the pillow fort. Sound like a plan?” 

Judai nodded his head and buried his head in his hands for a minute. Yusei stood beside him and rubbed his back in an attempt to comfort his friend. Within a few moments Judai picked his head up with a smile on his face. Yusei sighed with relief. Happy and ready to play Judai and Yusei followed Mrs. Fudo out to the car and the trio headed on down the road to the Fudo home.

In the car Judai and Yusei huddled next to each other so they could flip through the pages of one of Yusei’s old comic books. They were completely in their own world too absorbed into the comic to hear Mrs. Fudo’s chatter. 

“Look at that one! I wanna be like him!”

“Okay but look at Junk Warrior, he looks so cool.”

“Wanna play when we get to your house, Yusei?”

“Sure, what do you wanna play?” Yusei closed the comic book and gave Judai his full attention. 

“Let’s play super heroes! I’ll be Neos and you can be uh...uh. You can be Stardust!”

“You want me to be a dragon?” Yusei rolled his eyes and opened the book open again to look through the pages. “How about I’ll be Junk Warrior and-”

“Yusei when we get home you need to take a bath at some point okay?”

Okay.” Yusei sighed and looked out the window watching the trees go by. He wasn’t particularly fond of bath time as he would rather spend his time doing other things but he guessed if he tried to be fast he would have more play time with Judai. 

“Oh! Oh! Can I take a bath too!?” Judai bounced in his seat and watched Mrs’ Fudo for a response. 

“Oh, well. I mean. How about this. Why don’t we stop by your house and get some swim trunks and you to can play in the bath together for a bit?”

Yusei turned his head away from the window and both boys smiled. “Okay!”

. . . 

Mrs. Fudo had started the bath water for the boys as they got into their swim trunks. She was careful to make sure the water wasn’t too hot for their fragile skin but not too cold. When she felt the water was alright she put the plug into the tub and soon the water could be seen rising. 

“Okay boys, the bath is ready.” 

The sound of feet running could be heard as the duo came charging into the bathroom with their toys. Judai was the first to enter the bathroom and immediately followed by Yusei. 

“Alright boys, I want you to be careful and I don’t want any rough play. Okay?”

Both boys nodded and proceeded to enter the bath tub, lifting a leg to step into the warm water. As Judai lifted his leg Mrs. Fudo stopped him. There on his left leg was a large bruise that had turned a dark purple. 

“Judai honey, what happened to your leg?” 

Judai looked down at his leg and shrugged. “I dunno.” Judai stepped into the tub and sat down quickly looking over to Yusei. When Yusei saw Judai’s gaze on him he finished entering the tub and sat down next to the brunette. 

Mrs. Fudo folded her arms and watched the two for a bit. The thought of the bruise ran through her mind and she bit her lip. “Judai honey, can I see your leg?”

Judai said nothing for a moment but then complied. He lifted his leg to rest on the edge of the bath tub to let Mrs. Fudo examine it. She furrowed her brows as she looked the bruise over and shook her head. Judai pulled his leg away and curled it under him hoping it would make the concerned look leave her face.

“What’s wrong mother?” Yusei looked to Judai and then to his mother feeling his curiosity rising. Judai remained silent. 

Mrs. Fudo shook her head and smiled. “Nothing sweetheart, I was just looking. Now make sure you boys don’t get water on the floor. Okay?” The boys nodded and Mrs. Fudo left the bathroom and headed down the stairs, Judai’s leg still lingering in her mind. As she descended down the stairs Mrs. Fudo heard someone in the kitchen. 

“Oh honey, you’re home. You’re home rather early actually.” She said looking at her watch. Her husband turned to her and smiled.

“Well it’s because I wanted to hurry home to you.” He wrapped his arms around her and the two shared a kiss. The two pulled apart and Mrs. Fudo dug into the fridge to get out the meat she had planned to cook for dinner.

“So, How was your day?” She turned on the stove and set water to boil. 

Mr. Fudo leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “It was fine. I made a lot of progress on my program so hopefully by the end of the month we’ll see some decent results. How was your day?”

“Oh it was good. I cleaned the house up a bit, took the boys to shcool and then picked them up. I also bought some new books for Yusei and now he’s upstairs with Judai in the tub. Judai will be staying over for the night.” 

Mr. Fudo raised an eyebrow at that. “Isn’t it a school night?”

“Oh please, it’s just kindergarten. They’ll be fine. Judai had a rough day so I wanted to cheer him up.” She stopped speaking for a moment and thought about the bruise on Judai’s leg. “Actually, I have a concern about Judai.”

“Is it his hyperactive personality? Because that could be a number of things.” Her husband moved from his position on the counter and wrapped his arms around her. 

“No, not that. I find it rather endearing. But on a serious note, I’m concerned about a bruise I found on Judai’s leg.”Mrs. Fudo leaned into her husband and let him hold her while she got lost in thought.

Mr. Fudo thought about it for a moment. “What is it that you’re concerned about?The bruise or the cause of the bruise?”

“Well. Where did it come from?” 

“Odds are he was just playing and he must have bumped something or maybe he and Yusei were rough housing.”

“No, no. This bruise was huge it looked like, as if somebody had grabbed him. It just didn’t look right.”

“Are you thinking something is going on in the Yuki home?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m thinking too much into things again.”

“Well, if you’re concerned why not give them a call? Just to see what’s up. Call and tell them you found a mark on Judai’s leg and see how they react. Then you’ll know. I don’t think it’s anything but if it’ll calm your nerves I say calling them would be a good idea.” Mr. Fudo gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek before he released her. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed towards the stairs to go up and change out of his work clothes.

The concerned mother sat there in silence for a moment and eyed her phone. She wanted to call Judai’s mother and ask about the mark but at the same time she felt like asking was the same thing as an accusation. She took a few minutes to think it over before she walked over to the phone and dialed. 

. . . 

Water was all over the floor and the towels soaking wet. The sounds of laughter could be heard down the hall as the two boys played and splashed each other in the bath.

“Okay, Judai no more splashing. Judai. Judai! No more splashing I have water in my eyes!” Yusei grumbled as he wiped his face off with his wash cloth. He kept his arm up to shield him from the possible water attack from Judai. The brunette giggled as he waited for Yusei to lower his arm. “Judai I’m serious no more splashing. We got water all over the floor.”

“We did?” Judai looked over the edge of the tub and saw the puddles of water and the wet towels and he winced. “Uh oh. Your mom is gonna be mad.”

“I don’t think she will get super mad. Maybe we could clean it up.” Yusei stood up and looked around for another towel and he paused when he saw his mother in the doorway. 

“Hey are you boys having fun?” She tried her best to keep her voice calm and unshaken. She sat down on the toilet and watched them both. Judai stood up to stand next to Yusei and they both apologized for the floor. “It’s okay boys. It’s okay. Hey uh, listen. I know we said we were gonna have a sleep over but Judai’s mommy wants him home now. 

Judai sat down and his eyes started to well up with tears. Yusei sat down next to his friend and put his hand on his knee. “It’ll be okay Judai, I’ll see you tomorrow at school and then we can play tomorrow.” 

“Yusei’s right. And I’ll be over early in the morning to pick you up. Okay?”

Judai said nothing but nodded his head. Mrs. Fudo got the boys out of their wet clothes and into dry ones as fast as she could without seeming too anxious. She didn’t like Mrs. Yuki’s reaction on the phone and she was worried she might have ruined things for the two boys. As she helped Judai pack his things she told him reassuring things and talked only of the positives. Yusei did his best to help her as they all walked across the street to Judai’s home. 

Mrs. Fudo knocked on the door and the trio waited. There came a loud thump from inside the house and then moments later Mrs. Yuki was at the door. They exchanged pleasantries and Mrs.Yuki had Judai enter the house. The brunette had stayed quiet the entire time and only turned to say goodbye to Yusei. Yusei waved and gave the brunette the biggest hug he could. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Judai ran up to his room and crawled into bed not bothering to take off his shoes. He fought the tears that were coming to his eyes and he closed them tightly and hoped soon he would fall asleep. Tomorrow was another day and Judai only hoped it would bring about joy and happiness with his best friend Yusei.


End file.
